Author: Pulitano

Gianna Pulitano – Industry Event(s)

I decided to attend two events this semester specific to my thesis project. The first event I attended was a woodworking guild, The Woodworkers Guild of South Jersey in Cherry Hill, NJ. The woodworking event was hosted in a church basement and the guild was open to anyone interested in woodworking (beginner, int., professional, etc). As soon as I walked in the door, I had a few people approach me asking me what brought me to the meeting, if I had images of my design plan, what kind of resources I needed. The meeting began and all new members/guests introduced themselves before diving into the meetings guest speaker, Lauren Dombrowiak. Lauren handed out a few packets with examples of her work at the Philadelphia International Airport, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Urban Outfitters, and more. I was particularly interested in seeing Lauren’s work transform from a 3D Maya Animation into a physical woodworked structure. After Lauren walked us through her career experience, she passed around some cutting boards and jewelry she had made out of excess wood and answered any questions anyone had. Her paint designs inspired me to think a little more outside the box with the exterior of my screen as that is what attracts me that aren’t interested in a water screen like I am. After Lauren’s presentation, we took a break where we just spoke with each other over some snacks and beverages. After the break, I was asked to stand up and explain my project to everyone and see if anyone had any advice. I made a lot of connections that I have been emailing with since. Many of the members offered me some of their leftover wood, glass they didn’t need, wood shop tools, and more. At the end of the meeting, we even got to see one of the members show off an old piece of his from twenty+ years ago. I found this event to be a great asset to my project thus far as some of the members have sent me sketches, many have offered feedback, and all of them seem very passionate about woodwork. I look forward to showing the guild my project when it’s complete.

My other industry event was an exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image. The exhibition I attended was an event with artist Carlos Alfonzo Sanchez titled The Situation Room. The project consisted of an elevator that was full of flat screens on every wall, including the ceiling. The screens portrayed gifs that featured work from a few artists, including Carlos. The gifs were images of pretty environments with objects such as white picket fences, blue skies, beautiful picture frames with grotesque or private/intimate movements inside of them such as a person dressed in drag in their bedroom or a tongue moving around. The Situation Room was based on JFK’s creation of the Situation Room in the White House in 1961. The room is meant to create a small space without “access” to cell-phones and notifications. We had a conversation between those of us at the exhibitions opening, Carlos, the curator of the installation, and a host. The artist and curator spoke a lot about utilizing the space of the elevator, the tightness between those coming into the elevator and the white space on the walls. I didn’t have a chance to ask direct questions about my project at this event but I did gain some knowledge as to how to tell a story without using words.

Gianna Pulitano – Prototype #3 (feat. my elevator pitch)

My third prototype was intended to be demonstrating my wifi outlets. I had purchased my outlets a few weeks ago but hadn’t had a chance to try them until my third prototype. Although the wifi outlets were simple to set up at home, they were not able to connect to a hotspot on campus or connect to the schools wifi network. I opted to show off my design sketch a second time (especially since I didn’t have a chance to show my sketch to a lot of the class yet) with the videos that I am following to ask for advice on the exterior design of the water screen. Caitlyn suggested the idea of building a well around the outside of the water tank area of my screen which then, through discussion, developed into the idea of having a bucket hanging from the well to collect donations for the Thirst Project. I really liked this idea because it takes my project a step closer to the level of immersion I am striving for. Kris also offered an interesting take with his idea about having the audience come in, offering them some sort of spicy food and then creating the illusion that I don’t have any sort of drink for them to satisfy the burn. This idea sounds out there but I like the direction it’s stationed in. I want to involve my audience as much as possible and a hands on approach would be sure to capture their attention.

Elevator pitch: The main focus of my senior thesis project is to bring awareness to the water crisis, an issue not only holding a large impact in other countries but also right here in Ewing as we just witnessed with our water storage a few months ago. I plan to combine a mixture of woodworking skills and video skills to create an installation that spreads the message of immediate action for the water crisis. I will be using my project space as an area to collect donations for the Thirst Projects in order to build more wells for those who do not have access to a clean water source.

Gianna Pulitano – Prototype – Week #2 Experience

My second prototype was a first draft design sketch for my water screen set up. The purpose of my sketch was to put into perspective exactly what materials I needed to get started, what measurements I needed to cut down my wood to, and even prompted me to start looking into where exactly I had to go to get my materials. I added as many little excerpts as I could around each piece of my screen to provide as much detail as possible.

I emailed my sketch to a woodworking professional I met at my industry event who replied with a list of great feedback with suggestions about when I should be finishing the wood, what kind of paint will work best for me, what is too heavy to be mobile, etc.

I also shared my design with the class who suggested playing around with the idea of a sprinkler instead of a water pump and discussed possible methods I could try to apply to control water pressure on individual nozzles.

I took my sketch with me to Home Depot this past week and purchased my water utility tub as well as the wood I am using to build the container around it. I used the campus wood shop and worked with the student employee on duty to cut my wood down to the right sizes/angles.

Now that I have the box pieces cut up, my goal for this week is to put the box together and have the bottom of my screen built by my presentation at AIMM After Dark.

Gianna Pulitano – Prototype – Week #1 Experience

My first prototype was my beginning with the Raspberry Pi. I installed Noobs (Raspbian) onto my Pi and used a set up in the Ulab to attempt to light up an LED. The goal of this prototype was to understand the code to turning a source of power ON/OFF.

While following a YouTube tutorial, I learned how to successfully send power to the breadboard lighting up the LED. Unfortunately, I failed to link my code to the specific GPIO’s I was using making my code meaningless, possibly damaging the LED, and limiting myself from turning the LED off. (yay)

Through this experience with the Pi, I think I have developed a better understanding of the relationship between the different pieces of hardware I am using. I am still struggling to get the Pi to respond to some of my code but the feedback I received about adding in a “Sleep” command seems to be the solution to my issue of the never-ending LED.

Once I am able to completely control my Pi, I plan to try applying the Wi-Fi outlet I purchased and seeing if I can light up a source using that before transitioning to my water pump.

(FREE, must RSVP) Museum of the Moving Image: Artist Talk & Reception (Carlos Alfonzo Sanchez)

DATE OF EVENT: Wednesday, November 13 (Doors open @ 5:30pm.)

LOCATION: Museum of the Moving Image – William Fox Amphitheater (Queens, NY)

“To celebrate the opening of The Situation Room, MoMI and Giphy Arts will present a discussion with artist Carlos Alfonzo Sanchez and curator Lindsay Howard, and moderated by MoMI Director of Curatorial Affairs Barbara Miller. Dani Newman, Director of Artist Partnerships at Giphy, will introduce the discussion. Sanchez’s lookit (2019), the first work in the installation series, will be on view in the visitor elevator. Followed by reception with light refreshments.”

More info/where to RSVP: http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2019/11/13/detail/opening-the-situation-room-carlos-alfonzo-sanchez

Gianna Pulitano – Research Update #2

This past week I have been looking over two similar but entirely different Imagineer focused books as well as listening to the “Imagineer Podcast,” all of which I have found to be incredibly inspiring material. When
I originally dreamed up my water screen project, the frame of the screen was just a necessary piece of the puzzle but secondary to the actual film
I planned to project onto the screen. After completing this weeks research I realized how every piece of the puzzle is equally important. What makes an Imagineer an Imagineer is that not one detail in the storyline is lost. What makes Disney World a World rather than a simple theme park is the storytelling at every angle. I remember a specific scenario pointed out in one of the Imagineer books where the author mentions the Disney Cruise Line and the entire pool area was built to tell a story about Donald and his three nephews. It was observing this type of attention to detail that caused me to want to push my project into more of a full room type experience. I plan to incorporate objects into the room such as a 5 galloon jerrycan (what residents living in Swaziland have to carry whenever they set out to get water) and leaving out a water bottle filled with dirty water to push the Thirst Projects “Dirty Little Secret” Campaign. I have also considered researching patterns that are relative to the water crisis and using the laser cutter to burn them into my water screen frame.

Another type of research I experienced this week was conversational with Professor Lorna Frizell in the Communications Department. Professor Frizell and I talked through my project for at least an hour. I had always thought my film would be completely documentary style but Professor Frizell offered a different idea where the video is taking place in a future world without any access to clean water. I suddenly imagined a new film where I tie to the two worlds together. I begin the film with a post clean-water world and open with an introduction to how awful this type of world would be (to what lengths will people go to access clean water?) and later on transition to where we are now and how this is where we could end up if we don’t do something. I plan to use some statistical graphics as well as morph comparison shots between here/places like Swaziland to emphasize the need for action. For example, I think beginning a shot with someone living in the United States splashing some water in their face to wake up fading into a shot of someone sifting through orange waters to try to find a clean area would be extremely powerful. Professor Frizell also opened my mind to the Flint Michigan water crisis and helped me realize that this is an issue that is currently growing at a rapid pace not just outside our country but also fairly close.

Lastly, I completed some on field research when I received wood shop training with Andy on the bottom floor of the AIMM building. I had the opportunity to use each machine in our wood shop while training and have spoken with Andy about using the area to work on my frame for the next few weeks.

Long way to go but progress is progress !

Gianna Pulitano – Research Update #1

The general focus of my current research has involved an in depth search on building. I have always been a very visual learner and for that reason I went straight to YouTube to look for waterscreen tutorials. My research goal was to figure out what kind of materials would make the most sense for my project and where I would be able to find those materials. One of the first videos I stumbled upon during my research video was this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odY9NAtjH4o. Towards the beginning of the video, I thought this tutorial would be extremely beneficial for building my first prototype. The water storage area is built with cheap, mostly found at home parts such as water bottle caps, a plastic bin, hot glue, cardboard, etc. Cutting and welding the LEDs looked a little complicated but seemed doable. The really complicated part of this project came when the wires that turned the machine on and off had to be put together. There were no words to this video or written instructions and as a beginner I struggled to comprehend which wire needed to be where and exactly what tools he was using to connect the wires. At the end of the speedy process, the camera view zooms out letting the viewer see the project result and the wires look like a disorganized mess. After looking at all the electric components this project called for I decide to move on from it although I still believe I can incorporate different parts of the video into a smaller scale first prototype for my project. 

The next video I ran into during my research process was this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TCX0jSc7E. This tutorial is a lot more professional and a lot more expensive than the last one. This size waterfall would be ideal but I have fought back and forth a lot between what size I want my screen to be and due to cost it is most likely going to be about half the size of this waterfall. Although this project came out looking super cool, this video is designed to let people know what products were used to make the waterfall, not how to put the pieces together. I planned to keep this video in my bookmarks because the water pressure from the water pump seemed to be the closest to what I want for my screen. A lot of the videos I have watched (including this one) have been waterfalls as opposed to water screens so there was not much of a need for super high water pressure. The point of the high water pressure is to provide crisp, clean video when I project onto the water.

Moving forward, I discovered this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8R5opvNDQ0. This video was more landscape oriented than my indoor project will be but it did offer a lot of external features that I thought would be interesting or useful to incorporate. For example, my first instinct was to just build the exterior out of wood and paint the wood but after watching this video I would love to cover the wood in patriot steel. The steel does a cleaner job of hiding the pipes and making the project look much more together than the wood. This project also had a Mickey in it so you know I had to give it a shout out. 

The final video I found and the video I plan to actually follow while building my project is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5wShk_pV3k (written instructions in the description). This tutorial was perfect for me because the parts are reasonably priced, the project is modular, and there are both written and visual instructions. The written instructions to this tutorial include a lot of helpful tips such as when drilling your water holes it’s better to start with less than more because if you drill too many it will kill the pressure. 

I’m super nervous about starting to build this project but I’m also very eager to start the long process of trial and error that comes with learning something new.

For my next period of research, I reached out to Bret for one-on-one training in the Makerspace woodshop. I would like to purchase my water storage bin and the wood for the box around it and begin building my tank. I have a small water pump from my backyard that I may be able to try tinkering with as well although it is extremely old and there are no instructions with it so it may be a bust.

I would really like to find some kind of inspiring or educational reading that relates to my project that helps me remain motivated throughout the process. I have yet to find a reading related to my thesis project that doesn’t feel like I’m reading an instruction manual but I’m still on the hunt. 

Side-note: While speaking with the Thirst Project about my thesis proposal, I connected with their school touring director and they are planning to visit the school for a presentation in late March/early April which may be a great way to get students feeling inspired about the water crisis right before the showcase.

Gianna Pulitano – Research Plan

NOVEMBER 4 – HAVE STORYBOARD COMPLETED/LIST OF SCREEN BUILDING MATERIALS NEEDED/SKETCH OF FOUNTAIN (possibly Vectorworks)

NOVEMBER 11 – HAVE SCREEN MATERIALS PURCHASED

DECEMBER 2 – HAVE OUTSIDE STRUCTURE BUILT

DECEMBER 9 – FIGURE OUT WHAT I’M GOING TO NEED TO KNOW/DO TO PROGRAM THE FOUNTAIN

WINTER BREAK – FINISH MOST OF, IF NOT ALL OF, FILMING

FEBRUARY 2 – HAVE ANY LEFT OVER FILMING COMPLETE

FEBRUARY 24 – HAVE ANY PROGRAMMING FINISHED

MARCH+ – STYLING/THEMING FOR THE OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENT OF MY PROJECT

Gianna Pulitano – Finalized Project

   For my finalized thesis project, I decided to go with a version of my first project idea, building a water projection screen. This idea is a combination of several of my interests/passions: water, filmmaking, storytelling. I also enjoy this idea because it challenges me to develop some building skills as well as some minimal coding to program the water to use different amounts of water pressure at different times throughout the film. As a response to some of my feedback suggesting I seek out a purpose between the water and the storyline of my video, I decided to tie in The Thirst Project. The cause behind the Thirst Project was something I was ignorant to for most of my life so I would like to use my voice to help support this cause that other people may not know about either. Depending on how long the process for this project takes me, I might look into finding a way to divide the fountain between murky, dirty water and healthy, clear water and using the visuals in my presentation to demonstrate just how lucky we are to have the water we do. I think this project idea is also relevant as TCNJ recently had a water recently had a problem with access to clean water and students were unable to drink from any campus fountains or any dormitory/apartment taps nearby. For some students, this experience was a major struggle. When you put into perspective that we, as students, are being provided with water bottles from the school as well as have the means to find clean water at our local dollar stores, while other countries have to walk miles carrying their clean water home, it really highlights the privilege that is often forgotten through our daily lifestyle. All it takes is a quick search of “TCNJ water” on Twitter to see how helpless some students felt without clean water for a few days. I am hoping my short film may inspire students to take this helpless feeling and acknowledge that for some countries that is their entire life and we have the power to help change that. 

   In relation to my future, I think this project would be something the Walt Disney Company would love because I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and teaching myself something new as well as using my voice to help others. Disney is all about leaving your bubble and seeing what the rest of the world has to offer. 

   My project should look something like this in the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TCX0jSc7E&t=88s although I have considered using metal PVC pipes instead of the wood that this man used for his project. I am hoping to be done with the basics of my project about two-three months before the Thesis showcase so I can spend a lot of time decorating my screen as well. I want my project to really immerse my audience and to do that I’m going to have to really pay attention to theming. 

     I believe that the collaboration between my video and the moving water screen will create a new time of storytelling for a nonprofit. These days the world is looking to improve itself in a million different directions and if you want your issue to be heard then you really have to find a way to grab everyone’s attention. I want people to come over and watch my project because it looks cool but I want them to stay because they realize that access to clean water is a very real problem and they want to learn how they can help.